I Broke Down and Got a Keratin Treatment. Was It Worth It? Come See For Yourself...

After Petra raved about her keratin treatment experience, I decided to finally bite the bullet and book an appointment for a one-hour express Keratin Complex blowout at Warren Tricomi. You know, for research. And, taking my co-blogger's lead, I'm about to do something I thought I'd never ever do: Post pictures of my hair in its totally natural, 100 percent product-free, no-blow-dryer state. Every one of you better appreciate this sacrifice. Seriously.

Here's my natural texture before: And here it is after: And, no, my hair actually isn't a different color afterwards. It's just a different time of day.

So what is a keratin treatment, you might be wondering. Well, it's not a Brazilian blowout. They're similar, but unlike some Brazilians, the keratin treatment doesn't have formaldehyde in it (note that I didn't say it was chemical-free) and it doesn't break the actual bonds of the hair the way the Brazilian might straighten wavy hair or turn curls into waves. I know this is confusing because you can tell my hair is less wavy after, but that's happening because the humidity can't get into the shaft of my hair as easily—see, the keratin plugs up the "holes" in the shingles. That's why it looks so healthy, 'cause it's mimicking the structure my hair would have if I didn't do anything to it ever and it was perfect. What that translates into? Shine. And look how shiny it was when I got a blowout at DryBar a couple of weeks ago! So so shiny!

But all that happens is they paint the keratin serum on your hair and then use a flat-iron to lock it in. I only got the one-hour treatment, which means it only lasts about a month or 6 weeks or so, and I can already tell it's wearing off. If I go in for the three- to four-hour version (let's face it: I'll probably be a five-hour case) I'd get several months out of it. And to be honest, I'm considering it. It's been really nice not to have to dread rainy days and not to have to fiddle with my hair so much to get it to look less like something attacked my head in my sleep. Want to talk me out of it? Here's your chance. Tell me in the comments. And if you've had a keratin experience of your own, tell us all about it!